Sydney Swan Tom Mitchell will get his first taste of September football tonight when the Swans take on Hawthorn at the MCG.

The 20-year-old will embark on his first AFL finals series tonight, alongside fellow finals’ debutants Dane Rampe and Andrejs Everitt.

The midfielder, who finished in equal fourth place in this year’s AFL Rising Star award, said that tonight would rank as the highlight of his short AFL career.

“I’ve never really played in a game this big and as significant as this week,” Mitchell told SwansTV.

“Just to be playing a good team game, all of the boys will be getting around each other and I can’t wait to run out together on Friday.

“It’s definitely very exciting and it’s going to be a huge game against Hawthorn, so hopefully we can get a win this week.”

This time last year, Mitchell had been put on ice for the season after sustaining a stress fracture in his foot, and he was one of many young Swans who looked on from the stands as the team claimed the premiership last year at the MCG.

The second-year Swan said watching on from the sidelines last September had definitely inspired him to make his mark in 2013.

“After seeing it last year, and everyone was so happy for the 22 that played, but it definitely drives you to want to be a part of something like that,” he said.

“We don’t want to look too far ahead but hopefully we can have a special finals series this year, but right now we’re focusing on beating Hawthorn this Friday night.”

While Mitchell will be one of three experiencing their first final tonight, he said there was no shortage of advice on hand ahead of the qualifying final.

Mitchell said senior players including Jude Bolton and Ryan O’Keefe had helped the young players prepare by sharing their finals experience with the newer players at the club.

“We have some very experienced players who have played a lot of finals,” he said.

“Guys like Jude and Pebs (O’Keefe) have played in a lot of finals and they are very vocal around the group at training and just helping us in knowing what to expect.

“I think the whole leadership group has been really good at helping us younger guys with what to expect this week.”

The Swans’ number six admitted that he did have a few nerves this week, but said he would be focusing on keeping things simple in the lead up to the opening bounce at the MCG.

“You have your routine and your training throughout the week, which is all pretty much around the same time frame,” he said.

“There is always that little bit extra (excitement) when it is a big game, but you do try to keep it as simple as possible.”

“We’ve played a few of the top teams towards the end of the season and that intensity is what we’ll come to expect when it comes to finals.

“It was good preparation for us and we got close to Hawthorn last weekend but we couldn’t quite win, so we’re hoping to turn that around this week.”